“State of the Birds” report in for 2014

December 28, 2014&nbsp

“State of the Birds” report in for 2014

The latest report on birds put out by Partners on the U.S. Committee of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative has just been issued with both bad news and good. Conservation action has resulted in definite gains for some species and their habitats, but many others continue to decline and are in serious need of attention. Populations of birds associated with four out of five inland habitats-grasslands; arid lands (desert, sagebrush, and chaparral)’ eastern and western forests – continue to decline. Only wetland birds have shown strong gains.

Their findings on bird mortality in the US:

1. Habitat Loss- By far the greatest cause of bird population declines

2. Cats – 2.4 billion birds are killed by cats annually

3. Chemicals – 2.7 million killed from pesticides and insecticides

4. Collisions – 599 million from buildings, 30.6 million from power lines, 200 million from cars/trucks, 6.6 million from communication towers, 234 thousand from wind turbines